The many incarnations of Link have faced many awesome bosses during their various adventures in Hyrule and elsewhere.----[[AC: Ganondorf / Ganon]]\\[[BigBad Ganondorf/Ganon]] in any game he's in tends to fit the bill.* While all of the other fights against Ganondorf (except ''Wind Waker'') have him in possession of the Triforce of Power, the fight in ''A Link to the Past'' is the ''only'' time in the series in which you must face him while he has the ''entire power of the Triforce at his command''. The battle may start as an apparent rehash of the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original Ganon fight]], but ''very'' quickly turns that on its head as Ganon begins unleashing more and more powers against you; destroying the floor of his lair, hurling his trident, summoning flaming apparitions in the form of giant bats to attack you. And this is ''after'' demonstrations of some of his greatest {{Magnificent Bastard}}y in the series, while executing the ''original'' HijackedByGanon.* Ganon in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''. Mano-a-mano versus Ganon? Check. Great music to accompany a final battle? Check. Ring of fire around you and Ganon? Check. Zelda actually helps you for once? Check. Top it all off with Link stabbing Ganon right in the head for the finishing blow. Add it up and you get a boss fight worthy to end a classic game.** Also, it's so dark you can't really see more than Ganon's silhouette and glowing eyes. That is, until a lighting strikes every now and then and you get to see his blue pig like figure for a fraction of a second while he is swinging his blades and making that noise. That is some epic atmosphere.** The battle becomes more epic still if you run out of magic and therefore can't use light arrows to stun him. Cue rolling under Ganon's legs to hit his tail. Talk about a memorable way to beat ''[=OoT=]'' for the first time.** Ganondorf (his human form fought before Ganon) wasn't bad either, especially due to the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic that accompanied the battle.* The Ganon battle in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' takes place [[spoiler:in the middle of a flooding Hyrule]] and features a kimono-clad Ganon with two swords while Princess Zelda hijacks your bow so she can participate in the fight. And Link finishes the battle by jumping up in the air and [[spoiler:''ramming the Master Sword into Ganondorf's forehead'']]! And then Ganondorf [[spoiler: [[TakenForGranite turns to stone]]]], but not before he utters some of [[FamousLastWords the most epic last words ever:]]-->'''Ganondorf''': [[spoiler:The wind... it is... blowing...]]* Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures''. He's ''huge'', and while he's not hard to damage at first, he soon ups his attack patterns by throwing his massive trident at you and teleporting you close to him, and in the final stage he has a fiery aura that makes him impossible to beat except by deflecting his shots back at him.* At the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', you get to fight Ganon in a one-on-one sword duel. Indeed, the entirety of the final battle in ''Twilight Princess'' is one big [=CMoA=] -- the first fight against [[spoiler: (Ganon in Zelda's body)]] isn't all that great (he uses the same easily beatable strategy he did back in ''A Link to the Past'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''), but from there, Ganon takes on his Giant Hell-Pig form, and Link and Midna shoot each other a confident, "Let's-do-this" smirk before engaging in a massive, shapeshifting teamwork free-for-all in which you ''wrangle a giant charging hell-boar and hurl him onto his side, then wail on the scar on his belly.'' Then comes a horse chase in which Link and Zelda (armed with the Bow of Light) team up and you fend off the ghostly hordes Ganondorf hurls back at you, giving Zelda a clear shot at him. ''Then'' comes the final SwordFight of awesome. You feel like a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]] after this, and it's well-earned.** Moreover, rather than simply [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits waiting to press the button at the right time]], in this battle, you have to constantly try to get a hit in while simultaneously defending from Ganondorf's.** You also get to Finish him off when you finally knock him down, with the classic "Ending Blow" move, triggering a seamless switch into Ganon's dying cutscene when you plunge into him.** The awesomeness of the final fight is severely mitigated if [[spoiler: you distract Ganondorf with the Fishing Rod from the very beginning of the game. Of course, if you don't do that...]]

[[AC: [[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The Legend of Zelda]] ]]* The multi-headed dragon Gleeok is one of the hardest bosses because each head you sever catches fire and flies about the room, attacking you; this is also the reason he's the coolest boss, bar none. And the second one you face has FOUR of them. We can only wish Nintendo will eventually bring him back in one of the 3D console installments (he did return in two 2D installments, namely ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'' and ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'').

[[AC: [[Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink The Adventure of Link]] ]]* Rebonack, who chases you on a mechanical horse back and forth across the screen. How do you beat him? You jump over him and stab downwards as he passes. Eventually, he wises up and gets off his horse, then faces you like the rest of the game's Iron Knuckles, which are all awesome battles in their own, except he shoots sword beams and is much better at defending against your attacks. You have to not only closely watch his actions so you know where to defend, no matter where you are on the screen, but also play it smart and bait him to stay in the middle of the screen so he doesn't try shooting lasers at you from BehindTheBlack.* ''Ocarina of Time'' boss Volvagia first appeared in ''Zelda II'' under the name Barba[[note]] short for the Japanese name "Barubajia." Due to the Japanese language's L/R thing's lesser-known sibling, the B/V thing, Barubajia and Varuvajia are actually the same name, so the fact that Barba really ''is'' Volvagia is kinda LostInTranslation.[[/note]], and uses a similar attack, poking his head out of lava and extending his long neck. The weak point is his head, and the solution is casting the jump spell so you jump to unusual heights and stab him in the face.* After killing the Thunderbird and finding the Triforce, you were likely expecting to simply sit back and enjoy your ending, weren't you? Nope! Instead, the lights go out and Shadow Link makes his first appearance, splitting off from you and going on the attack, complete with his own battle theme to let you know that shit's about to get real. He naturally knows all of your moves. Oh, and you ''don't'' get to restore your health or magic points after [[ThatOneBoss Thunderbird]], but that only increases the satisfaction when - or rather, ''if'' - you win.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]] ]]* Although he also qualifies as ThatOneBoss, Trinexx, the boss of Turtle Rock, is nevertheless an awesome boss whose defeat gives immense satisfaction. He initially appears as a three-headed turtle; the left and right heads spit fire and ice respectively, and must be paralysed with ice and fire before they can be attacked, while the middle head is invulnerable. Once they go down, the middle head retreats into the shell and transforms into a giant snake-like creature which chases Link around the room. As a bonus, when Trinexx is defeated, you are finally re-united with Princess Zelda (in crystal form).* The first boss proper: six giant Armos statues start attacking you in formation. This game introduced the concept of using the dungeon's item on the boss. What better way to let players know than letting them ruin the Armos' almost dance like attacks by unloading your entire quiver on them? And if you run out, you can still use the sword. And then when you kill five of them, the last one TurnsRed and starts jumping over to smash you into the ground.* Blind the Thief from the fourth dungeon of the Dark World. In preparation for the fight, though you have no idea what you're doing, you blow up a floor where light from a window shines in. The boss room is curiously empty. However, you find the maiden you're looking for elsewhere in the dungeon, so you can get out right? Except that all the maidens were trapped in crystals, so it seems very suspicious finding one in a simple jail cell. And she won't let you leave because it's too bright outside. So you take her to the boss room, right under the light from the window, and watch her go crazy and turn into Blind The Thief. A demon with a head spinning constantly and shooting lasers all over the place. The head is the target, and when you hurt him enough, his head comes off and he sprouts another one. Eventually you have heads flying all over the place and you're perilously dodging lasers trying to attack his head.* Agahnim. The first example of a TennisBoss in the series. He teleports all over the place and shoots energy balls at you, but unlike future tennis bosses, only the big ones can be returned. The smaller ones spread out to hurt you upon being attacked and sometimes he throws out Sith-like Lightning that's deadly, but can be dodged if you stand in the right spot. For extra awesome, try reflecting his attacks with the bug catching net.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]] ]]* Eagle's Tower introduces you to the Mad Batter. He's first faced as a miniboss who sends his six bats at you; defeating all six causes him to retreat, swearing to get revenge. Then you get to the boss room, and he's back, riding atop ''Evil Eagle'', who is battled atop a tower and can blow you off the tower with [[WindFromBeneathMyWings wind blasts]] and also mixes razor feathers in as well as a charge attack. And if you get blown off the tower, Evil Eagle's health is restored to full.* The Nightmare. It's a FinalExamBoss, but (mostly) of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'''s most aggravating bosses, not ''Link's Awakening''. Then you realize: this is no ordinary Nightmare, this is ''[[FridgeBrilliance Link's personal Nightmare]]''.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]] ]]* The Stalfos enemy makes for some pretty epic sword duels. If there's several in a room, and you Z-target one, the other ones will leave you two alone as you fight to the death. They one-upped this with the Dinofols, a lizard clutching a similar sword and shield in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''. There's two differences: Dinofols is much faster than any Stalfos-- faster than you, as a matter of fact-- oh, and ''it can breathe fire''. Exhilarating!* The fight with Twinrova. Using the [[spoiler: mirror shield to fire their own attacks back at each other]]. And [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments the dialogue when you defeat them is hilarious,]] as is [[LuminescentBlush Link's reaction]] to [[BishonenLine their combination transformation]].* Volvagia. It's a giant game of Whack-a-dragon! The music for both this battle and King Dodongo are [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic truly epic]]; setting the perfect mood for being trapped in a room with something very big and scary that wants you very ''dead''. * A mid-boss example from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', the Iron Knuckle is easily one of the most powerful enemies in the game, and capable of huge amounts of damage. Their attacks are unblockable as well, and their speed increases when they begin to take heavy damage, which makes it a fun but deadly game of chicken.* Two words: Dark. Link.** Best miniboss EVER. And from the same Temple - Morpha is awesome fun.** Two stabs with Biggoron's Sword always works, too. A 10-second miniboss fight? Hell yeah.* This was the first appearance of Phantom Ganon. Quite as good as ''Wind Waker'', or better. Before you fight him, you ascend into a dim room with paintings in which if you look hard enough, you'll see ''yourself'' in all of them. With nothing coming out, you try to leave, only for GANON to appear, rip his own ''face'' off, and reveal himself as Phantom Ganon. The battle begins with him riding on his horse and he flies through a painting. Then you take out your bow then look for him to come out of one, at which point you let loose your arrow and shoot him down. Eventually he starts adding fake Phantom Ganons! You're watching him ride down the hill in the painting... but if you're looking at the wrong one, he ''turns and rides back up the hill!'' Meanwhile, the ''actual'' Phantom Ganon has come out of a different painting in order to sucker-punch you with electric bombs. Damage him enough and he'll leave his horse and fight you himself, laughing maniacally the whole time. And once he's beaten? Ganon banishes him to the gap between dimensions. One more thing: people don't often realize it, but this was the first game in which you could beat him back with a ''bottle''.* Bongo Bongo. Fighting a giant, shadowy EldritchAbomination on top of a big drum has never been so much fun.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]] ]]* Odolwa, the boss of the [[BubblegloopSwamp Woodfall]] temple, is pretty fun once you know how it works. You're basically just shooting arrows at a giant in a jungle mask, surrounded by flames, running away from bugs. ** Also, you can forget the arrows and fight him in a straight-up sword duel. Best done with one of the weaker early swords though; the best one finishes him pretty quick.** You can also try to defeat him as Deku. It's pretty fun.* Goht is the source of much entertainment. Throughout most of the dungeon, you're climbing up a tower. When you get up to the very top, you enter Goht's chamber. Initially nothing seems odd about it, so you [[SchmuckBait go ahead and fire a fire arrow at the thing trapped in a block of ice]]. A huge mechanical bull bursts out, smashes the walls, and '''tramples Link''' before running off. Well then, it's on now, so Link puts on the Goron Mask and starts to roll after Goht. As you roll down the raceway, you realise that this track ''wraps around'' the entire central chamber. You're using the Goron roll at full power, and there are jars that contain magic powerups so you can keep going without stopping. As you wear the boss down, he'll start throwing rocks, stalactites, and even ''bombs'' at you, and after you keep hitting him, he doesn't just collapse, he keeps going until he ''runs into a wall'' causing rocks to fall on him. And since he appears in ''[[GroundhogDayLoop Majora's Mask]]'', you can just keep resetting time, fighting him over and over. And that's why Goht is one of the greatest Zelda bosses ever. [[spoiler:Alternatively, there's a BoringButPractical way of facing him--by taking the shot with the Fire Arrow from the entryway, you remain in an alcove where Goht's attacks don't reach, where you can stay in base form and snipe him with arrows each time he passes by.]]* Gyorg can come off as a bit bland, if you stay on the platform and try to shoot him as he jumps out of the water, but if you put on the Zora mask you instead play a fast game of chicken where you have to ram him in the side without letting him bite you. After defeating him, you feel like a badass ocean predator.* Twinmold, THE biggest boss in ANY Zelda game, and next to impossible to complete without the Giant's Mask. Even Fierce Deity Link is hard to use against these two. Next to the huge descending moon, this boss alone put the Expansion Pack to its limitations and then some.** Thought it was awesome enough in the original version? ''Majora's Mask 3D'' somehow manages to make the fight ''even more awesome.'' You don't just go in, turn giant, and then beat up Twinmold this time. You have to fight them normally first, and it's not easy. Trying to shoot the blue one's weak points is tough when the red one keeps charging you and shooting fireballs. When you kill the blue one, ''then'' you earn the Giant's Mask. That's right - you earn the boss-needed item '''during the fight.''' Then you promptly go giant, and things have certainly changed. Instead of hacking apart the other Twinmold, you beat it up with your bare hands, swing it around [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 Bowser-style]], ''and smash its face into the ground.'' (Or just choke it, which is less spectacular.) Giant Link has been made even more awesome, as he has a powerful hunched-over stance, fights with his bare hands, and is so huge that the red Twinmold looks like a toy. This fight received ''the'' most changes from the original, but it resulted in an unbelievably epic battle. And once you beat Twinmold the first time, you can beat them up again as many times as you like when you reset time!** Also, the Fierce Deity Mask is a GameBreaker; only usable in boss rooms and makes bosses so easy it's not too much fun. However, it ''is'' hard to use against Twinmold, making it actually fun to put your new strength, powers, and cool scary design to maximum use.* The final battle with Majora itself is a long, involved test of everything you've learned up to that point, with alternating weaknesses, sequences where you have to chase it down and the amazing feeling of stabbing the cause of everything bad in the mask. Or you can just cheese it with the Fierce Deity Mask and enjoy the catharsis of mowing it down in seconds flat, knowing your time spent gathering the masks was well worth it.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons]] ]]* The first boss in ''Seasons'', Aquamentus (the dragon from the first game), is a pretty effective revamp. He's still easy, but rather than looking like a dorky, winged unicorn, he has the menacing physique of a full-on ''dragon'' this time. He also actually puts his wings to use in this battle by charging at you with his horn.* The second boss in ''Seasons'', King Dodongo, is a faithful recreation of his battle from ''Ocarina of Time''. However, this time you get to ''pick him up'' and ''throw him into a pit of spikes''. The sheer ease of the battle actually ''adds'' to the awesomeness, as it makes the player feel truly powerful.* The third boss of ''Seasons'', Mothula from ''A Link to the Past'', is a frantic and fast-paced boss. Arguably the game's first truly challenging boss, it moves at a breakneck pace in tricky patterns. It also tries to knock you into a hole which leads you down into a dungeon, where you bounce back up and start the fight all over again, a la Moldorm (''Link to the Past'' incarnation) or ''Link's Awakening''[='=]s Evil Eagle.* The fifth boss of ''Seasons'', Digdogger, returns from the first game. The first thing you'll notice in this fight is that the sword doesn't scathe him. Then you notice a spiked ball perched atop one of the room's pillars. Naturally, that's your main weapon in this fight. In what is arguably the series's most faithful example of "using the dungeon's weapon to beat the boss", you use the magnet gloves to attract and repel the spiked ball, ramming it into the boss. Then Digdogger splits apart into a bunch of tiny Digdoggers, which you use the spiked ball to ''run over''. The fact that the spiked ball can hurt ''you'' as well if you actually let it reach you before switching polarities arguably makes it even cooler.* Anyone who has ever beaten ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'' will [[ThatOneBoss shudder at the name Dark Dragon.]] For those of you that haven't, he takes, for a GBC game, a ridiculous time to beat, deals moves that are almost unavoidable, and only appears [[spoiler:after you beat his difficult, but comparatively easy first form]]. He's impressively gigantic, too, he takes up nearly the whole screen, completely dwarfing Link in size, and despite that, he's well animated ''and'' he has little trouble moving around. Suffice to say, one feels like a god after beating him. Of course, if you're on a linked game, you still get to fight Twinrova and [[spoiler:Ganon]]. Luckily, you're able to heal beforehand.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]] ]]* Molgera, thanks partially to its [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlF0-Qs2xkI theme song.]]* Jalhalla as well. He's a giant Poe, and like all other Poes, you must use the Mirror Shield to shine light at him, causing him to become material. Unlike the other Poes though, he falls to the floor, too heavy to move, and then you have to pick him up and throw him at the spiky walls, at which point he bursts into a bunch of little Poes that run around all over the room, vulnerable to your sword. If you've gotten the Hurricane Spin before this, then once you throw him, you charge it up and become a whirling tornado of destruction, possibly killing the boss after throwing him only once by destroying all the poes that make him up.* The death of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojWVxBdBh6o&fmt=18 the Helmaroc King]] has to qualify. The boss (a giant bird) shrieks, begins to fly up into the air, the searchlights catch him in their beams, he reaches the apex of his rise, gives one last scream and ''pow'', all while the victory music plays throughout. More awesome because that bird is the thing that kidnapped Aryll, and you waited to kick its feathered behind for half the game. [[ItsPersonal Sweet, sweet taste of revenge]].* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ff_ELahVBo Phantom Ganon]] (''Wind Waker'' edition). You've got several things going on here: first, some impressive cell shading effects on the subboss himself. Second, it's a TennisBoss. Then toss in some awesome showdown/fight music. Next, manipulate said music so that it adds, subtracts, or even changes ''based on what is happening.'' Phantom Ganon on the ground gives you the simplest version of the music, in the air adds a beat or two, volleying the energy ball changes to a track that ''tenses up'' each time you land a succesful swing, and then a dramatic sting when you finally bring him back down. It's quite a rush, and to top it off, he leaves the fight with a sinister laugh, knowing full well that the two of you ''will'' be meeting again.** Made even better when you realize that you can use an empty bottle to knock back his energy balls so that it looks like Link is punching them. Bad. Ass.** As tense as the fight is, it only adds to the awesomeness of your first use of the Light Arrows. You get the arrows, and you are then confronted by another Phantom Ganon. Ready to test the strength of your new Light Arrows, you take aim, let one fly, and let your jaw drop as the first arrow ''obliterates'' him.** That music? A remix of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'''s final boss theme. Yes, a ''miniboss'' gets a ''final boss theme''. That alone is sheer awesomness.* The Gohdan fight. Maybe it's the combination of weapons you need to use, maybe it's the fact that there's a slightly greater amount of strategy than most bosses, but also the music is awesome. Also, because it's right after the Tower of the Gods.* Puppet Ganon. First, you beat his normal, vaguely-human-shaped form, and Link begins to jump for joy at having beaten him - but then, the supposedly defeated puppet shudders and turns into a gigantic spider. And after defeating that form, it once again leaps into the air and transforms once again, but this time into a huge snake. The music for the Snake Form is awesome, but best of all is the boss itself, because you've basically got to [[spoiler: shoot it in the butt with Light Arrows]]. Perhaps the best part, though, is the ending cutscene, where Link is practically on his hands and knees, panting and exhausted, then Ganon appears again and reminds him that he's still got one more battle before the adventures over. You can practically FEEL Link go, "Goddammit, why me?" at that point.* Gohma. You enter the boss room to find out what has been messing with [[EverythingsBetterWithDragons Valoo]]. At first, you just see Valoo's tail dangling through a hole in the ceiling over a pool of lava. Then, a massive scorpion rises from the lava, and you have to get rid of its armor by ''bringing the roof down on it''. Once you do get rid of its armor, you can speed up the fight by using the Grappling Hook on its eye to bring it within range of your sword, subverting the standard routine of waiting for it to expose its weak point in one of the most subtle ways possible. As the first boss in the game, it's pretty awesome.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap Minish Cap]] ]]* Palace of Winds. A HighAltitudeBattle with the Gyorg Pair, twin flying Manta-like creatures. (Completely different from the Gyorg in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''.) What makes it especially awesome is that you fight it on the ''backs'' of said Gyorgs, hopping from one to the other while miles in the air.* The FinalBoss, Vaati (all three stages) was also excellently done.* The "giant" Octorok in the ice temple.* Mazaal, basically a 2D version of Gohdan from ''Wind Waker''. Pure awesome.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]] ]]* Stallord is similar to fight with Goht mentioned above, instead combining rail shooter elements, without the shooting of course. The battle still involves ramming however, but plenty of other Stalfos get in the way, making this one a little more precision oriented. (Or a game of pinball.)** It gets better once you destroy his first form, the sand goes away and you have to ''surf a spinning top'' alongside rails on the inner/outer walls. Stallord's floating goat head shoots at you? You jump to the other side, until he decides to blast fire at you. What do you do? [[spoiler: Ram straight into him]], both of you go down to the floor and you slash the heck out of the sword stuck in him.** And the entire time you're fighting his second phase, the music playing is a remix of the boss themes of King Dodongo and Volvagia from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''.** You thought Fierce Deity versus Majora was a curb-stomp? If you have the Mortal Draw, chug a Rare Chu Jelly or Great Fairy's Tears after Stallord's head is on the ground. Use said Mortal Draw three times... and ''cut to the death scene''.* The battle with Argorok. Picture a battle with a fire-breathing dragon which takes place on top of a large tower which is situated [[spoiler:on top of a floating island thousands of feet in the air]], in the middle of a rainstorm while epic music plays, and after taking some damage, the boss decides to stay airborne and out of your reach... '''so you go after him''', [[DualWield dual-wielding]] your twin Clawshots so that you're flying around the arena like freakin' SpiderMan. Can you say "bitchin'"?** Made all the more awesome when you use ending blow. After grappling onto his back and frantically slashing at his weak spot, you then stand up and plunge your sword to the HILT into his spine.** Argorok is Zelda's [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Boss Fight of Awesome]], or possibly Stallord. Either way, between those two and Morpheel, it's safe to say that ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' truly raised the bar for boss battles in the series.** Also, of the four Twilight Mirror Shard bosses, Argorok is the only one you can Finish, [[spoiler:and is the last one you Finish before Ganon]]. That just shows how much of a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome its whole boss battle is.* The fight against Zant. His fight is divided into about 6 or 7 phases where he changes the background into that of an older dungeon, forcing you to use the item from that dungeon in some truly unique fashion in order to hurt him, ending in a sword duel in front of Hyrule Castle Town. Best use of the FinalExamBoss ''ever.''** What makes it truly epic is that with each phase, a new element is added to the background music. The music becomes more frenzied and chaotic, accentuating Zant's descent into madness, especially as by the end he has reduced to flailing wildly with his blades and shrieking like a psycho.** The fight is also a bit of FridgeBrilliance concerning Zant as a character. The guy [[spoiler:usurped the throne from Midna]], and then he goes and usurps the battle arenas from all the other bosses, proving he has no real power of his own and can't do a thing by himself.* The Darknuts. One of the few enemies in the game tough and strong enough to draw out the full extent of the techniques you've learned, you're able to engage them in an extremely epic one-on-one duel in the main quest as you slowly wear down their armor before, like the Iron Knuckle, they become fairly agile without losing a lick of strength or defensive ability, fighting like watered-down versions of [[spoiler: Ganondorf's final form]]. Add in the fact that having to beat three to four of them at once to clear the BonusLevelOfHell is much, much harder than any of the temple bosses if you don't just chuck bombs and run away, and they easily qualify for the most badass of Ganondorf's forces.** Also made awesome by the fact that when you knock off the last bit of armor, the Darknut will leap backwards to avoid you, [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks fling his weapon at you]] with enough force to make Link stagger even when blocking, and then swiftly pulling out a smaller longsword to fight you with. And now he will do combos.** And makes a weird, approving rumble when you do so, making it sound like he considers you a WorthyOpponent.* The Death Sword, miniboss of the Arbiter's Grounds. You enter the room to find a [[{{BFS}} ginormous elongated cleaver]], tied down to the floor via ropes with prayer strips attached. It just screams "[[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Demon]], [[DontTouchItYouIdiot Do Not Touch]]", but [[ViolationOfCommonSense of course]] [[SchmuckBait you have to release it]], leaving you to fight a giant floating sword. The music is reminiscent of the Jaws theme as it slowly moves towards you... Of course, the thing isn't ''actually'' a floating sword; it has a wielder in the form of a seriously awesome, [[NightmareFuel if creepy as hell]], demon. But for the maximum effect, use your wolf senses before unsealing the demon, and you can see it there, holding the sword, just ''waiting'' for some fool to release it.* Twilit Bloat (the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere giant light bug from nowhere]]) can be incredibly fun for some players. There's something so satisfying about being confronted with a revolting, jiggling mass and pummeling the shit out of it. Playing this game blind makes it really awesome when you first knock it down. It's in the water, it's belly-up, it's got six creepy protrusions flailing about. You jump over to attack it, and you land on it. You try to attack the protrusions, but they just come back up. Then you remember that Wolf Link can leap through a good dozen targets in an instant, and you realize - this is goddamn '''Zelda'''. It doesn't matter that this thing came right the hell out of nowhere, you are going to kill it and it is going to feel awesome.* King Bulblin. The first time you fight him is on Eldin Bridge. A jousting match where you must pass by him and slash him with the sword as you do so, and then make a U-turn and do it again, while trying not to fall off. Eventually, you beat him, and then Link strikes a pose as Epona reels back. The second time around he trades his armor for two shields. You can't slash him, and you can't shoot arrows at him... or so it seems. It becomes the same principle: barely pass by him, aim your arrow, then release when he's too close to react.* Morpheel. First you grab its eye with the clawshot, anchored at the bottom with the iron boots to slash at it. But then its eye goes to its back, and then you swim above it and try to latch onto it then. When you do, Link pulls himself to Morpheel's back and just keeps slashing it. Badass.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]] ]]* Gleeok is back, and fighting it is ''incredibly fun''. You get to use the grappling hook for a unique take on TennisBoss, deflecting Gleeok's attacks with the rope. After this, you use the grappling hook to pull down ''Gleeok itself''.* Eox. A giant soldier made of stone. To beat it, you stand on a lever, launch yourself into the air with your hammer, and then pound on it until its wooden frame collapses--after which you have to launch yourself onto its still-moving head and take it out once and for all.* The Bellum battles provide a suitably large-scale finale to the game.** The first battle against Bellum takes place over three floors of a building.** Becomes even more awesome when you must use the Phantom Hourglass to ''stop time'' in order to hit him.** Even better is the final battle, when you have to use your FairyCompanion's first person view on the lower screen to spot when his weak spot is hittable!** When [[FanNickname Bellumbeck]] uses a tornado spin attack, try countering it with a spin attack (or the Great Spin Attack, if you have it). You will cheer.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]] ]]* Fraaz is a Keese-like creature that can use both fire and "icy fire" to attack, and has probably one of the catchiest boss themes from the game (sharing parts of it with Cragma's theme). Pair in that it uses the boomerang much better than the fight against Blaaz in ''Phantom Hourglass'' and that the boss is a considerable step up in difficulty from Stagnox and it definitely earns a place.* Cragma is a giant stone golem residing in a pit of lava, who foolishly grants you access to a mine cart that you ride up and around the chamber, filling his [[AttackItsWeakPoint glowing weak points]] with arrows.* Byrne, TheDragon, against whom Phantom!Zelda assists, and she's capable of yanking him right off the pillars he's balancing on. In the fight's second phase, she can grab and wrestle with him when he does a darkness-powered dash attack, allowing Link to strike.* Skeldritch, a skeletal totem pole of sorts, in which you can ''catapult'' the boulders it throws right back at it.* [[spoiler:The Demon Train. Train vs. train fight, anyone? And unlike the Ghost Ship battle in ''Phantom Hourglass'', it's not ridiculously cheap, and there are simple and intuitive counters to each of its attacks. Plus, its final weak point is its enormous face, and it's oddly satisfying to pound it full of cannonballs and see it writhe in agony.]]* And finally, one of the best final boss battles in Zelda history (which is saying A LOT!): Malladus itself. [[spoiler:Especially the final phase, where he turns into an enormous demonic blue warpig-like creature, with horns and red hair. Sound familiar? And that's not even getting into how Link and Zelda -- back in her body -- team up to fight the very Ganon-like creature, ''and you have control over both of them''. It bears repeating: ''Link and Zelda team up, both under the player's full control, to fight a Ganon-like final boss.'' Gee, Nintendo, is it even possible to deliver any more fanservice?]]** And then the music complementing that fight. A remix of the overworld/title theme, with all of the Lokomo's instruments playing a part in the song, that's a perfect continuation of the duet you played with Zelda moments before.** And the icing of the cake is the absolutely glorious [=CMOA=] that ends the battle: [[spoiler:Link and Zelda wielding together the Lokomo's Sword (Yes, [[UpToEleven IT IS possible to deliver more fanservice]]) ''and thrusting it into Malladus forehead in a SmashingSurvival event''! And you thought topping Link stabbing Ganondorf's head with the Master Sword at the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' was impossible!]]

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]]]* Koloktos. Topping off [[BestLevelEver the Ancient Cistern]], he is a six-armed mechanical torso that seems easy at first. Use the [[WhipItGood whip]] to tear its arms off, then AttackItsWeakPoint to damage it. [[StrictlyFormula Same old Zelda]]. [[OhCrap Then it stands up]], puts a metal cage over its weak point, and pulls out [[{{BFS}} six swords the size of Link.]] And then it's chasing you around, slicing and smashing everything in sight. Oh, and [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies summoning zombies.]] How do you beat him? You whip off an arm, pick up that giant sword, [[AnArmAndALeg cut his other arms and legs off,]] and smash that cage to bits. He basically marks the point where Skyward Sword stops being great and [[SugarWiki/SoCoolItsAwesome starts kicking ass.]] The moment when you realize you can just ''wield'' one of those swords is amazing. You target one and get Fi's analysis, and she says that despite their size, Link should be able to wield them. The first thought through your mind is "can I really do this?" And then, when you dismember three arms with one swing, your next thought is "Holy crap! This is really happening!"* Tentalus is no slouch, either. A giant, one-eyed, tentacle-haired kraken monster, you fight it at the end of a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Time-Shifted Ancient Robot Pirate Ship]]. Before you do that, however, you have to escape from the ship as Tentalus tears it a new one. You sprint from the lowest level to the deck as the ship shifts from side to side, dodging falling debris and charging your sword to chop through massive tentacles, all while the water rises behind you. By the time you reach the deck, Tentalus has ''torn the ship in half.'' You fight it on the wreckage in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. The HolyShitQuotient just went waaaaayyyy up.* Moldarach is also pretty impressive. Between slashing the eyeballs in her claws, breaking free from her attacks, exposing her as she digs under the sand, and dealing with her offspring, you can basically think of her as "Gohma+." A very well-done throwback boss. Also, the same [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzL4IA16k78 amazing music]] plays in her battle as does in Koloktos.* [[LethalLavaLand Scaldera]] probably one of the most amusing bosses in the series. You're on a long, thin boss stage that continuously goes uphill while [[AmbiguouslyGay Ghirahim]] throws a tantrum and brings the boulder that almost killed you Indiana Jones-style to fiery, scalding life. You have to chuck bombs into its giant mouth and blast away its exoskeleton until a pulsating, round blob of flesh with a single eye is revealed and you gotta ''hack that thing apart.'' All while an extremely addicting track plays. It's the first [[OhCrap holy-crap-what-the-fudge-is-that-thing]] boss. When that boulder first explodes and sprouts thin, scrambling legs, you know ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome shit just got real.]]''* Speaking of Ghirahim, all three of his own boss fights qualify, as well. The first one, especially, because [[WakeUpCallBoss he subverts the series-long tradition]] of having the boss' weakness be whatever item you picked up in the dungeon earlier. Here, the only weapon that will work against him is your sword... that is, if Ghirahim isn't too busy using it to slash ''you'' to bits because you telegraphed your moves and let him ''grab your sword out of your hand.'' Call him a SissyVillain if you want, but Ghirahim earns the title of Demon Lord with a vengeance.* Ghirahim's final form is an epic duel for the ages. After [[spoiler: taking his true form as a sword spirit]], Ghirahim lifts both you and him into the air on a floating platform. The fight then becomes a sequence of throwing Ghirahim off of a number of platforms, then [[ItsRainingMen plunging down on him from above with the Master Sword.]] When you finally reach the ground, Ghirahim [[LetsGetDangerous takes off the kid gloves]] and starts trying to lop your head off with a number of different swords, including a zweihander that you must literally ''slash to pieces'' in order to expose Ghirahim's weak point. And the part that makes this fight truly awesome? Thanks to the revolutionary motion controls, the one who does all of this is ''you''- you're not just playing Link. You ''are'' Link.* The Stalmaster is one hell of a boss.** Hell, even the standard Stalfos are always fun to fight. After years of becoming goofier and easier throughout the series, culminating in their slapstick-y antics in ''Wind Waker'', they suddenly TakeALevelInBadass here and put your actual sword skills to the test.** Then there's Scervo, and his successor, Dreadfuse, who are [[NinjaZombiePirateRobot robot skeleton pirate minibosses]]. Both battles take place on a plank, where you have to push them back to the edge while keeping them from cornering you against a spike wall. They're certainly tense duels, especially once they [[ShockAndAwe power up their swords with electricity]], making mistakes more punishable.* The Imprisoned can be [[WarmupBoss fairly]] [[BreatherBoss easy]] in all of his incarnations, but the second and third battles are awesome for the sheer fact that [[spoiler:''[[TheRival Groose]]'', of all people, helps you win them by catapulting giant bombs ([[HumanCannonball and eventually you]]) at it.]]* The game's final boss [[spoiler: Demise]] is one hell of a throwdown:** You fight him in what looks like a floor made of water in the sky. You sword duel him in a fairly normal matter until you knock him to the ground the first time. [[spoiler: Then he gets to his feet, summons and lightning storm, and engulfs his sword in lightning. You then have to charge your own sword with lightning and stun him with electrified Skyward Strikes while avoiding his own Skyward Strikes and vicious charge attacks.]] Truly, one of ''Zelda'''s most epic final battles. ''[[SelfImposedChallenge Or]]'' you can duel him ''without'' relying on the [[spoiler:electrified [[TitleDrop Skyward]] Strike, which is likely considering that [[GuideDangIt nothing tells you that you can use it]].]] If this ''does'' happen, it can be really intense, because you can only get an opening by [[spoiler:either evading his strikes at close range or timing the Shield Bash to deflect Demise's strikes three times, then quickly counterattacking.]] Very tough, very nerve-wracking, and yet ''really satisfying'' if you succeed.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]]]* Being based on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', this game takes most of the bosses from that game and puts new takes on most of them to keep veterans on their toes (of those that made it into this game, only Moldorm remains mostly unchanged).** Stalblind, the boss of Thieves' Hideout. He's a skeletal version of Blind the Thief, except he's armed with a sword and shield. The shield is reflective, so at first you can merge with it to spring an attack on Stalblind. After a while, Stalbind will catch on to your strategy and ditch the shield, and it becomes a full-on sword fight, with Stalblind even having his own version of the spin attack. Once he's near death, he will use the same trick Blind before him used: [[DetachmentCombat detaching his own head]], which will fly around the arena spraying black mist while his body continues trying to chop you to pieces.** Gemesaur King from the Dark Palace, the counterpart to ''A Link to the Past's'' Helmasaur King. If you're a veteran of that game, do you think you're going to use your hammer to break his mask like you did before? Wrong. You gotta blow him up this time and [[GemEncrusted can collect rupees]] from his body while doing so. Once his mask breaks off, he will take advantage of the dungeon's new darkness mechanic and dim out the torches, making him [[LightningBruiser dangerously faster for his size]].* In addition to the recycled or SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute bosses, this game has some original bosses as well. One such boss is Zaganaga of the Desert Palace. Of first note is getting to the boss himself. Unlike most of the Sage dungeons, Desert Palace is in Hyrule like in the original game (but not a Pendant dungeon, as that role is replaced by the House of Gales). Upon going through the dungeon's boss door, you go outside and take another portal to Lorule. Once you get back into Lorule, you find yourself battling Zaganaga himself in a [[WhackAMonster manner similar]] to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Volvagia]] over a giant [[ForebodingArchitecture out-of-place]] quicksand pit sitting in the middle of [[SwampsAreEvil Misery Mire]].* Yuga is [[DudeLooksLikeALady horribly effeminate]] and [[AmbiguouslyGay camp as shit]] [[spoiler:and [[HijackingCthulhu hijacks]] ''Ganon''. Round one, Hilda vines up the walls like freaking [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Maleficent]], which means no wall-merging, which means this fight is almost right out of ''Link to the Past''. Then round two starts out as a game of [[TennisBoss Dead Man's Volley]], except he wall-merges right after the win - and Zelda gives you the ''Bow of Light''. That's right, you have to attack this guy ''while you're a painting''. First you get in behind him and shoot him in the back; he falls out, and you slash him. Then, another round of Volley. Then you shoot him in the ''face'', and while he's stunned, you go around and ''then'' shoot him in the back; he falls out and you slash him. Then he adds a ''second shot'' during the Volley, and you're ButtonMashing trying to keep up with this. Then he goes in, and tries to ''tackle you'' for trying to shoot him in the face. So you turn around, fire, and your shot ''circles the room and'' '''[[ExactlyWhatIAimedAt shoots him in the back]]'''. Then he falls out, and one more swing and you feel like a Hylia-damned ''hero''.]]

[[AC: [[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]]]* The battles against Vah Ruta and Vah Naboris are considered highlights of the game thanks to the fast pace brought about by riding Sidon and a Sand Seal respectively, the catchy and energetic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Jk1FAXENs musical]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4aB4d0Cwag tracks]] that play during both, and because the fact that the Zora and Gerudo arcs are more fleshed out than the other two (particularly when it comes to the character arcs of Sidon and Riju, who help you fight these bosses) gives the player more narrative satisfaction when fighting.* The final boss of the Champion's Ballad DLC, [[spoiler:Monk Maz Koshia, is an absolute blast to fight. When you approach him, he seems nothing more than another Shrine Monk - but then he stands up, teleporting you to a boss arena, and then gives you a fight to truly test your worth. He starts out like a Yiga soldier but much stronger, swinging around ancient weapons and flash-stepping all over the place. His second phase has him summon shadow clones to confuse you, while his third phase has him grow to a ''massive'' size, throwing around tornadoes and metal balls. And as all this is going on, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dRq4EsKXd8 this]] plays in the background.]]----